The image of the shooting jerked him back from the dreamland as he coughed up hard, trying to gasp for air. For a moment he thought he was dead. He was not sure what actually happened but it did happen in a flash. All he remembered was seeing a boy standing at the door of his classroom pointing what he believed was a gun and before he could do anything, the boy opened fire.
The shot was fast and furious, darting straight at him. Luckily he was quick enough to react and instead of spearing through his heart like an unstoppable arrow, the bullet ended up hitting his left shoulder. The moment he was down on the floor, he could hear his students screaming and their screaming forced him to stay awake. He knew he had to stay awake to protect his students from what he thought a random shooting massacre but the wrench was fast enough to numb his entire body in such a short time.
It must have been the longest minute ever in his life before he finally passed out.
“Look officers, my patient has just regained his conscious and not in a stable position for any interrogation and my job is to make sure that he undergoes a smooth recovery here-”
“Don’t worry doctor, we’re not going to take long… furthermore everyone has a job to do. Your job is to make sure he recovers from the shot and my job is to answer to my superiors, the media and those affected families so… let’s just do each other a small favour shall we?”
“Well…”
“Please doctor, we won’t stand in your way to treat him but at the same time, please let us finish our job.”
“Alright… but remember, if my patient refuses to say or not in a good condition to cooperate with you, I would suggest that you leave this room.”
“Sure, fair enough.” The conversation ended with soft closing of the door. In spite of the fact that his eyes were shut he could sense he was not alone in the room.
Slowly he tried to open up his eyes. It was more painful than the cough, he thought as he gulped a lump of saliva down his throat.
“Mr. Richardson?”
“Hmmm…” He wanted to acknowledge the greeting but something else got his voice.
“Sorry to disturb you right now… I know its not really a good time to talk but… hmmm…”
“Eeerrrr…”
“You alright there? You want me to call the doctor?” Kevin cleared his throat once again but strange, the voice continued to get lost somewhere down there in his vocal box so he waved a simple NO gesture to them. “Alright then… hmmm… we’ll start once you’re ready…”
“Ouch…” He has never been groaning in so much pain and discomfort before in his life. It felt worst than the time he broke his index finger a few years back. The soft groans caught the attention and concern of the two strangers in his room.
“Slowly Mr. Richardson… slowly… you’re still hurt.” A low and deep husky voice kept drifted in and out of his heavy head.
Heeding up the advice, Kevin took his time to open up his eyes in slow and steady mannered. When he finally managed to have his eyes slightly open, he saw a figure standing next to his bed. He was not sure if the shot has affected his eyesight or maybe it was true that the room was dark afterall. Attempts to rub both his eyes to clear the blurry visions ended with soft moans as he could hardly stretch himself out.
“Who… who are you?” Kevin asked. The tremours in his voice could not hide both the fear and ache as he struggled to sit up. It must have had been one hell of an experience for him, they thought as they watched how Kevin eventually gave up and dropped his head back to the pillow.
“Here… let me help you…” He walked over to Kevin and flashed a wide beam of assurance as Kevin watched at how he gestured to another man who was standing at the foot of the bed. Then the bed began to coil in bit by bit until Kevin was up to an almost sitting position. “Is that enough for you?”
“Yes, yes… that’s enough… thanks…”
“Don’t mention it…”
“Who are you?” The baldhead inspector continued to smile at him and instead of answering to his question, the inspector further instructed his assistant to pull the blinds for a better introduction. Kevin cringed the minute the sunrays penetrated through the glass panel and shone directly at his face.
“There you have it… its better now isn’t it? Bright and sunny day, don’t you think so Mr. Richardson?”
Kevin frowned. He was not sure how to react to that question. To him, he had more than enough questions lingering in his head, more relevant and important questions to be exact.
“Sure it is… you still haven’t answer my question yet. Who are you guys?”
The baldhead inspector took an empty chair and dragged it closer to the bed. For a start, he was glad that the man sitting on the bed was alive and thus, making his job easier. Secondly, Kevin sounded calmer which was important to his interrogation though he had been severely advised by the doctor in-charge not to disturb her patient unless if the patient willing to talk. Somehow, judging from Kevin’s facial expression, they knew he was more than ready to cooperate with them in their on-going case.
“Alright… let me just introduce myself, I’m Special Agent Lou and this is… my assistant Officer Markus. We are from the Criminal Department.”
“Criminal what?”
“Criminal Department.”
“Oh God…” Kevin muttered softly as he shook his head lightly.
He had been a teacher for almost a decade in one of the most prestigious high school in the big city, and always educates his students all the good values he could possibly think of. In other words, he nurtured them more than simply teaching them what was stated in the textbooks. That was the reason why he was well-liked and very approachable in school compared to other teachers.
“Mr. Richardson? Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes… I… hmmmm… I don’t understand all these…”
“None of us did. Its more like having an incomplete jigsaw puzzle you know… to have it one perfect picture, we need to dig out everything and make sure we did not miss anything out… and in this case, I mean, in your case… I hope you don’t mind us asking you a few questions about the shoot-out.”
Shoot-out?
Oh yes, how could he forget that eventful incident. The one that almost snatched his life away. The one that almost made his wife a widow and his son an orphan. Yet the most popular question remained as why did it happen.
“You ready for this Mr. Richardson?”
“Kevin.”
“What?”
“Just call me Kevin will do.”
“Well… if you say so then… Kevin. Shall we begin now?”
Kevin nodded his head in anticipation. If in class, he was used to seeing his students waiting in great anxiety each time he wanted to give out their test papers and now, he could practically see himself in their shoes. Waiting for the invigilator to give out their oral interrogations, kind of reminded him of the first time he walked in for the job interview in the school back then.
“Here we go… but before that, if you don’t feel too well, you’ve got to tell us and we’ll take a short break. You’re alright with that?”
Kevin continued nodding his head to show that he understood the instruction well as he wet his dry and cracking lips.
Special Agent Lou turned to his assistant and without a word, Officer Markus took out a small notebook from his pocket to jot down all the essential information from their key witness.
“Kevin, do you know anyone by the name of Angela Brown?”
Angela Brown? Kevin’s deep green eyes started to sparkle with concern. The name was familiar, very much familiar indeed but what was the connection between the shoot-out and his student. His forehead creased with a thousand folds as he turned to the two police officers.
“So… Kevin? You alright there? You need a drink or something?”
“No, no… its okay. I’m fine…”
“Okay… so back to my question… do you know Angela Brown?”
“Yes, I do know her. She’s one of my students.”
“From your form class or…”
“No, I teach her class Literature.”
“Generally… how’s your relationship with your students Kevin? I mean, are you personally close to them or just teach them and that’s it?”
“As a teacher, you can either just teach them or nurture them and I’m doing both so that my students will be a better person. I’m not… I’m not a super teacher but I dedicate my time for my students to come to me if they have problems. On a personal note, we are close like families.”
“All of them?”
“Not all. Only those that I teach either… from my form class or you know… my sub class… will find me and talk to me about their problems.”
“What about Angela Brown?”
“What about her?”
“Did she ever confide in you on anything? And I mean anything at all?”
“I’ve taught her class since her first year and like what I’ve mentioned, we’re all close like family. Angela is just like any other students who came to me for advices and solutions to her problems with schoolwork after school. We became closer when I was put in-charge of helping out the school debate team to get to the final round and Angela is one of the best speakers that we have in school. I spend more time with her class because of their new assignment that I gave them… nothing else.”
“So she did confide in you on her problems? Personal problem perhaps?”
“No.”
“No? Can you specify that?”
“How do you want me to specify a simple NO officer? So far she never tell me anything about her family problems if there is or any problems in school with her friends.”
“On another note, how is your relationship with her? Just Angela Brown.”
“Excuse me? My relationship with Angela? What… what do you mean by that?”
“I’m sorry if you don’t like how it sounds but we need to know what’s the relationship is like between the two of you… you know, is it between a student and a teacher, or maybe more than that-”
“Wait! Are you implying that I am having an affair with my own student Special Agent Lou?”
“Do you?” Compared to the earlier tone he used, Kevin realized that there was no sign of joking in the new tone as the officer studied his reaction to the rather personal enquiry.
“I don’t see the relevant of me answering to that question-”
“There is! In fact, that is the most fundamental question out of all the questions that I’ll be asking you later… so back to the question, do you have a relationship with Angela Brown?”
“I can’t believe this… I just can’t believe this…”
“I’m afraid you have not much choice but to believe it Kevin… I know, its hard on you and that you’ve had a bad day but trust me, everyone is going through the same thing too so… let’s just get this over with once and for all shall we? Now please… answer my question. Do you have a relationship with Angela Brown?”
“Of course no! I don’t know where the hell did you get that idea from but she is young enough to be my daughter. She is a bright student and yes, many teachers like her because of her characters but to have a relationship with her is totally absurd! It never comes across my mind to have any relationship with her apart from us having that healthy teacher and student kind of relationship. Nothing more.”
“Alright then… on 14 May, that is the day before the shoot-out, did you go over to Angela’s house?”
Without a second thought, Kevin answered the question confidently. “Yes I did.”
“Wow! You have a very good memory aren’t you? You sure you went over to her place on the 14 May?”
“I’m positive about it.”
“Now why is that so?”
“Because its my wife’s birthday and I went over to Angela’s place right after I called my wife who is not in town because she went over to Canada to visit her mom and I’ve told my wife about it.”
“Alright… why did you go to Angela’s place?”
“Because she invited me over to her place. She said they need help in the paperwork-”
“They? Who are these they?”
“Arianne, Carrie… Carla… Josh, Danny… and… Nash were there too. You can ask them if you want to.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve covered on that one. We just want to make sure that you do remember that day. So in other words, you are not alone with her in her house that day right?”
“Definitely! I’m a teacher, no matter how close I am to those students, I have a name to hold on to… but still, I don’t understand why are you asking me about her?”
“Because she is in a way involved in this shoot-out.” Kevin almost could not believe what he had just heard. Angela Brown, one of the top students who had such a bright future had a hand in the shoot-out, but why?
“What? Angela’s involved in this shoot-out? You mean she paid someone to randomly shoot at the students?”
“Not randomly at the students but mainly on you.”
“I don’t get it! Angela hired someone to shoot me?”
“Why do you insist on her paying someone to shoot you?”
“Because I remember clearly that the one who shot me was a boy. Not a girl.”
“We know that.”
“But why? I did nothing wrong to her… why?”
“I wish I have the answers for you Kevin and I’m pretty sure that Angela will have the answer too… if she is alive right now.”
“Wait…” Kevin put up his hand for the officer to stop. All the information that was given out to him came like a speeding train, too fast to be comprehended. Or maybe, it was the headache that made it difficult for him to comprehend the entire storyboard. “You’re making me confuse now… what do you mean if she is alive right now? What… what happen to her?”
“You see… from all the interrogation that we have done on most of the eyewitnesses and from this short information from you, we believed that this is a case of jealousy. Yes, Angela in involved in this case but not as someone who hired someone else to kill you, she is a victim herself. She was found dead at the stairs in the school. It was said that Angela had a fight with a male student sometime early morning yesterday before the shoot-out. It seems that he is jealous of your relationship with Angela Brown.”
“My… my relationship with Angela? Oh God… and… and this boy killed Angela too?”
“Yes… do you know a male student by the name of Sam Wisley?”
“Sam Wisley? Sam Wisley…” Kevin shut his eyes trying to recall names of his students. Even those who were not close to him will have their names registered in his memory because he was fond of keeping names of his students for future keeping. “No… I don’t think so…”
“You sure?”
“Yes… what’s the connection with this Sam boy? He was shot too?”
“No. Sam Wisley is the one who shot you.”
“Oh dear God… where is he now? You guys… you guys have arrested him?”
“More than that. Sam Wisley was dead.” Kevin could just pass out for the third time hearing that from the officer.
“Oh God… how?”
“By the time we got to the scene, Sam Wisley was found dead somewhere near the school canteen. The eyewitnesses said after he shot you and Angela, he apparently killed two other students and hurt some students before they chased him to the field. By then the police had surrounded the area and I guess, that was the time he shot himself in the mouth.”
Kevin felt sick.
He felt a wave of nauseous building up inside his stomach. It was more like having all his inner intestines tied up tight together and it was getting tighter as the image of having someone being shot from the mouth teased him in the head. The knot was so tight that he felt the urged to vomit out. Even the pungent smell of those medicines in the room did not help to ease the giddiness as he massaged his temples lightly. Too much information, he thought. Previously he has heard of a similar shooting massacre taking place at other neighbouring school but least did he expect it to happen in his school. To him personally.
“Are you alright Kevin?”
Kevin pushed Lou’s hands politely. “I’m fine… I’m fine… but I still don’t get it…”
“On what?”
“That this Sam boy… where did he get that idea that… that Angela and I were… God…”
“One of her friends told us that he thought you’re having an affair with Angela Brown and he did threaten to kill you but no one would have expected him to actually do it. The strange part is that… he is the only one who thought Angela and him are having a special relationship. What’s that term they called it again Markus?”
“An item.” Said Officer Markus when Lou flicked his fingers for helping words.
“Yeah, that’s the word. He thought they were an item. You know, more like an unrequited love kind of case. Kids nowadays… seem to channel all their energy in the wrong places, don’t you think?”
“How did he get the gun from? He bought it?”
“It’s a long story Kevin…”
“Make it short then.”
“Sam Wisley has a medical history.”
“Such as?”
“Mental problem. You see… after his mother passed away and his father was given a life imprisonment, he was sent to live with his aunt. But later his aunt has no choice but to send him away for the authorities to handle because of his mental disorder that seem to be getting worse each day. He was sent to the asylum from the age of 12 but was released a few years ago when the psychiatrists found him normal and safe to others. We have checked with the school and they said Sam was admitted through a scholarship by one of the charity foundation at his aunt’s area. He was a loner and when Angela took him as a friend, he thought his life has changed for the better but… the truth about their relationship, on how Angela really feels about him, the rejection, the anger inside him… you know reminded him of his own past.”
“Own past?”
“His father shot his mother because he thought the mother had an affair with a teacher and Sam was the main witnessed to that murder. It was then… he began to change.”
Kevin continued to massage the beak of his nose. In a way, he felt responsible for what has happened. If it was not for him, all these misunderstanding could have been avoided and most importantly of all, those deaths could have been prevented. Angela would still be alive. So was Sam. If only he could turn back time and be able to seize the day just the way he wanted it, he would change the plot of the entire story.
No doubt the terrible tragedy would be highlighted as one of the main headlines of every newspaper in the country and the news will be a yesterday’s news once a new dawn begins. The bloodstains will be washed off either by the rain or scrubbed off by the school cleaners, and the blast of the gunshot will soon be overpowered by laughter once everything had settled down but not for Kevin.
He found it hard to just simply accept the things as the way it was. To simply pretend like nothing has happened. Moreover, his job was not done yet. He still needs to go back to school to teach. He still has his responsibility towards other students but can he afford to close an eye on the tragedy that happened right at the doorstep of his own classroom?
“Kevin… are you alright? You want me to call the nurse?”
“No, no… I’m fine… have you met up with the families of those students that… that… hmmm…” Dead, he thought. Surprised at how that simple word could make him stammered like a small kid.
“Yes, we did. Everyone needs some time to get over it… and I hope you too…”
“Its not easy.”
“I know… but you know life has to go on.” Kevin smiled, more like a sardonic smile at the officer. If only he knew what it felt like to be the cause of someone else’s death, then maybe he would have a second thought of preaching how life has to go on, Kevin thought.
“Are you gentlemen done yet with my patient?” Kevin looked up and saw a tall lanky doctor intruded into their conversation.
“Yeah… yeah… in fact, we’re finishing.”
“Good, cause my patient needs to rest.”
“Sure, we’re leaving now… have a good rest Kevin. We will see you again if we need anything else from you alright.”
Kevin nodded his head. Just as the two officers were about to leave the room, Kevin held on to his wounded shoulders to call out to them.
“Officer wait!”
“Yes?”
“Just now… just now you were mentioning something about this Sam boy… hurting other students right?”
“Yeah… four of them actually… very brave kids I would say.”
“Do you know where they are now?”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the 2nd Chappy to this Story, thanks for those who read and definitely your reviews is always appreciated!
No doubt the terrible tragedy would be highlighted as one of the main headlines of every newspaper in the country and the news will be a yesterday’s news once a new dawn begins. The bloodstains will be washed off either by the rain or scrubbed off by the school cleaners, and the blast of the gunshot will soon be overpowered by laughter once everything had settled down but not for Kevin.
